Taxes

Low-Tax States Are Now Adding Jobs 80% Faster Than High-Tax States Texas Public Policy Foundation Job growth has been running 80% stronger in low-tax states than in high-tax states since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 in December 2017. Understanding why holds important lessons for policy, economics, and politics. The

From the outset, 2019 looked like it might be “The Year Of Retirement Reform” for Congress. Last year closed out with a number of retirement bills making real headway through DC, committees, think tanks and lobbyists, and we’ve been poised for major legislation to emerge. And now we have the first real movement of the

Getty The House passed the SECURE Act before Memorial Day weekend, with a 417-3 vote, moving the fate of the biggest changes to retirement policy since 2006 to the Senate which plans to take up its version of the bill after the holiday. There’s good news for part-timers, new parents, older workers and employees at

Captive Insurance jda I’ve previously written about the attempt by captive manager CIC Services, LLC, and accounting firm Ryan, LLC, to stop the application of IRS Notice 2016-66 because that Notice would have the effect of warning CIC’s and Ryan’s clients that they might have been involved in abusive tax shelters through their participation in

O’Shares Chairman Kevin O’Leary visits the trading floor after ringing the New York Stock Exchange opening bell. The cast member of television’s “Shark Tank” program was marking the recent launch of the O’Shares FTSE US Quality Dividend ETF. (Photo by AP/Richard Drew) Kevin O’Leary is Chairman of O’Shares Investments, but you probably know him as

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin For anyone with employees, paying employment taxes is inevitable. You withhold taxes from employee pay, and send the money to the IRS. The taxes are withheld from wages and are supposed to be promptly paid to the government. This is trust fund money that belongs to the government, and no matter how good a

The utility of annuities as investment products is one of the most sharply contested subjects in the financial world. The objective of dispassionate observers should be to help clear the smoke and offer simple guidelines to form smarter opinions about one of the most promising—but also reputedly one of the most damaging, tax-oppressive, costly, and

Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Today’s column addresses the whether to file and suspend retirement benefits and how doing so can affect spousal benefit availability, when spousal benefits can be received and how to become eligible for

earnin earnin Most Americans believe we live in a country with quality medical care—and have long considered it to be the best in the world. However, the reality is that life expectancy is declining as healthcare costs are rising; so, it’s no surprise that it’s becoming more and more expensive to afford medical care. Relying

Texas vs. California, a series of essays comparing America’s two most populous states Texas Public Policy Foundation One in every five Americans call California or Texas home. Comparisons between the two most-populous states are useful because both states have diverse populations and economies, but vastly different politics. That, in turn, leads to divergent public policies

Credit: Getty Royalty Free Getty What are the best states for a 529 education savings plan? What problems are there with these plans? These are tax-advantaged programs, sponsored by states, that allow your investments to grow tax-free and be spent without a tax bite for educational expenses. Stephen Nelson, a wealth manager at Aldrich Wealth in Carlsbad,

The other day I was speaking with a reporter about Americans’ level of retirement preparation. Usually I touch on data on retirement plan participation, average contribution rates, retirement plan assets and average retirement ages – all of which have gone up. But this time I asked a more straightforward question: What share of current retirees

Getty Getty The Internal Revenue Service audited only 0.59% of individual income tax returns last year, the lowest audit rate since 2002, according to the IRS 2018 Data Book released today. A closer look shows that it’s the highest earners whose audit rate has dropped the most. For the highest income taxpayers—returns showing adjusted gross

The gig economy has exploded in recent years, and it’s changing the way we think about traditional “work.” For instance, many people are choosing to freelance full-time, work part-time while freelancing or even work full-time while pursuing side hustles. While gig economy workers enjoy a lot more freedom than they might in the corporate world,

Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Today’s column explores the wisdom of relying on ‘knowledgeable’ friends for Social Security advice, whether a restricted application is possible for a couple, filing for spousal benefits while retirement benefits are suspended

The daily jousting between UK Prime Minister Theresa May, members of her Parliament, and EU leaders has captivated the news media, with its endless play-by-play action. As growing pressure has mounted on May to resign following her third failed proposal, she is desperately trying to hold a fourth and likely final vote for the first

UNITED STATES – MARCH 14: Alice Rivlin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, testifies during a Joint Economic Committee hearing in Dirksen on “solving the federal debt crisis.” (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) CQ-Roll Call,Inc. Alice Rivlin, who died yesterday at age 88, was a policy legend. She also was a kind, generous,

Stephanie Román, Senior Policy Analyst, Policy and Advocacy UnidosUS In the last two weeks, President Donald Trump, his spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany, and a number of conservative pundits have been bragging about Hispanics having the lowest unemployment rate in decades. Yes, Hispanic unemployment is at its lowest level since it started being reported by the Bureau of Labor